Cash lil mo money record

With a net worth estimated at $249 million, Percy Miller is one of the wealthiest entertainers in America. Yet hundreds of thousands of dollars in bills remain unpaid in the parish he called home. What happened to the wildly successful entrepreneur who arrived amid a flurry of spending and then left town with barely a whisper?

Fans wait for Master P at a New Orleans-area record shop, the line stretching out the door and around the building into the parking lot.

Hundreds brave the mid-December cold, swamping a Wherehouse Music store in Metairie to catch a glimpse of Master P, buy his latest rap album, Game Face, and jockey for an autograph.

The man, born Percy Miller, arrives almost two hours late, entering through a back door and peering over rows of CDs at adoring fans. As Miller and his 12-year-old son, recording artist Lil' Romeo, come into full view, fans cheer. Some grunt Master P's signature, "uuunnnhhh."

Once the Millers reach a makeshift platform, young mothers bring up their toddlers to pose for pictures. Other children get talking Master P dolls as an early Christmas present. Teenage fans press forward with CDs, publicity photos and posters for a coveted Master P autograph before security bouncers usher them away.

The Metairie appearance reaffirms the 31-year-old boss of No Limit Records as a titan in the rap world.

In Baton Rouge, though, a number of business owners describe Master P a little differently, saying the talented titan of rap doesn't pay all his bills.

Several business owners are fighting Miller or his companies in court for payment on debts dating back several years to the days when Master P came to Baton Rouge as a cause celebre and stirred up the Country. Club of Louisiana crowd.

Next month, the East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff is scheduled to put three Master P properties on the auction block to settle an unpaid court judgment worth six figures.

The properties include a half finished recording studio near Airline Highway and Interstate 12 and two small apartment buildings. The 33,000-square-foot studio was to be the crown jewel of the rapper's Baton Rouge business interests. Now, it may slip from his grasp because of an allegedly unpaid bill of $190,000. All this despite Miller's estimated net worth of $249 million by Forbes magazine.

Roy Maughan Jr., Miller's local attorney, says the validity of the judgment is in dispute. He declined to be more specific, or discuss any other legal actions pending against his client. Maughan did say, though, that Miller still considers Louisiana his home, and he "still has residence in Baton Rouge, absolutely."

Several creditors continue to press claims against other companies in Miller's control, ranging from a $740,000 Bank One debt, which the bank's attorneys are trying to link to Miller's family home at Country Club of Louisiana, to a $10,000 partially unpaid bill for hand-made Persian rugs.

A review of public records as well as interviews with Baton Rouge business owners suggests No Limit companies spent freely Master P's first few years in town, but then withheld partial payment on a variety of bills. Also, several creditors say, No Limit has ignored court proceedings and been unwilling to resolve disputes.

People are asking, if Miller has all this money, why doesn't he pay all his bills?

Howdy, Sheriff

The rumors arrived in Baton Rouge before Percy Miller did. A rapper of filthy lyrics dropped a cool million in cash for a home in Country Club of Louisiana, some of the gated community's residents had heard. So, here come a bunch of wild parties, drugs and drive-bys.

Miller, a master at knowing his audience, arranged an unusual meeting in 1997 around the time he arrived in town along with his posse of friends and relatives. He wanted to meet the sheriff.

State Sen. Melvin "Kip" Holden, whom Miller hired as a local attorney at the time, did the introductions. Sheriff Elmer Litchfield, meet rapper Master P. And this is his other lawyer, Johnnie Cochran. Also in the room were a few of Master P's business associates.

Litchfield remembers attending the meeting, but not much about what was said. "We sat in the conference room, it wasn't very long. They wanted to be introduced. Everyone was congenial," he recalls.

City Constable Reggie Brown, who sat in as Litchfield's administrative assistant, remembers things more clearly.

"Master P said: 'I'm a citizen. I want to be accepted as a family man and a good citizen,' "

The rapper said he would not perform his hard-edged gangsta rap in concert in Baton Rouge, Brown said. Miller also asked how he might help in the community, inquiring about which charities needed money.

Litchfield discouraged Miller from merely throwing around cash. The sheriff suggested Miller get involved in the community and use his charm and charisma to steer inner-city youth in the right direction.

Brown said he believes Miller made a tacit promise to officials that day to be a straight-shooting resident and local businessman.

Soon after Miller arrived, local business people started reaping handsome profits thanks to No Limit's abundant cash flow.

Ron Ward was a Baton Rouge hip-hop producer studying to earn his real estate license in the summer of 1997. Ward knew one of Miller's business associates from Southern University, Tevester Scott, who at the time was No Limit's vice president of artist development.

Ward also knew about Master P from working as a DJ at a club in New Orleans, where Miller's independent No Limit label was all the rage. Ward told Scott he would gladly help Miller with any real estate needs in Baton Rouge--and of course, would gladly let him hear demo tapes of his work.

"I was an aspiring music producer, and I figured that was my way in," says Ward, also known as DJ Ron.

That was September 1997. A month later, Ward got the telephone call any novice real estate agent dreams of. Your first client would like to buy a home for $1 million in cash.

"He wanted a home in a real exclusive neighborhood. When a guy tells you he's looking to buy a house, you don't ask questions. You just do it."

Miller chose the gated Country Club of Louisiana. There was no real second choice. The exclusive neighborhood offered privacy, security and the luxury Miller and his family could now easily afford.

Master P's house purchase went smoothly, and Ward became the rap star's local real estate agent. Over the next year-and-a-half, Ward said, he handled the purchases on some 15 homes around the city for Miller's family and associates, several of whom lived in Country Club of Louisiana.

"I was helping them learn the city," Ward said. "They had never owned houses before. I helped them out, and the whole time I was shopping (music) tracks. Listen to this track, listen to that."

If Miller didn't know Baton Rouge, Baton Rougeans understood him even less. "The Baton Rouge community didn't understand that he was a mega-superstar," Ward said.

Ward said he has not spoken to Miller in more than six months. Ward is still in the real estate business, but he spends more time in music production. He still works with Tevester Scott, who left No Limit along with rapper Mystikal a couple of years ago. Ward produced a song on a recent hot-selling Mystikal album, Tarantula.

Mo' money

Master P is a wealthy man. His No Limit Records label has sold tens of millions of records. On a recent television appearance, he boasted of selling 75 million records. A former associate said three years ago he had already sold 32 million. The music business is extremely profitable for Miller, in part because he is the outright owner of No Limit, which means he doesn't have to share profits with a major label or parent company.

When he arrived in Baton Rouge, Miller had an estimated income of $50 million in one year alone. More recently, Forbes magazine estimated his net worth at $249 million.

And Miller and Co. were not stingy.

Miller paid cash for his posh home. His brother Corey, known as C-Murder, once tipped a pair of delivery men $200 each for dropping off some rugs.

Miller also spent large sums improving and decorating his house. He hired local interior decorator Cindy Maughan, whose husband, Roy, is Miller's attorney.

Miller installed imported European chandeliers, gold ceilings and marble floors. There were remote-control led curtains, a home entertainment center stacked with security monitors, and another set of monitors in the bedroom.

There was a fully functional recording studio, an elevator to get to it, and a bedroom suite that boasted a large saltwater aquarium, a gold and jewel encrusted bed, and a master bath with gold faucets.